Derby winner thrives on taking money out of Greeley

Chris SinclairKelly Lampe of Edison, Neb., receives praise from fans as he mounts his car after winning the finals at the Demolition Derby at the Rocky Mountain Stampede. He battled Shawn Williamson from Valentine, Neb., for 17 minutes before judges deemed him the winner.

Kelly Lampe cheers when he hears boos in Greeley.

A guy from Nebraska taking money out of Colorado is never a good thing. Once again, Lampe broke the bank and left the annual Demolition Derby at Greeley’s Rocky Mountain Stampede on Friday night with a first-place check of $3,100 at the Stampede Arena before an estimated crowd of 11,000 screaming fans.

“They boo me every time I pull in. I used to paint boo down the side of my car so they’d cheer for me,” Lampe said. “In the heat, the Colorado guys ganged up and destroyed my car. I came out and won the slop heat and won the main event. That’s what makes it worth it.”

Lampe, 39, and fellow Nebraskan Sam Williams, 27, were the last two drivers left in a finals field of 29 beat-up cars. For the fifth or sixth time — Lampe’s lost count — the bald guy from Edison, Neb., took home the four-foot trophy.

It’s not as though Lampe didn’t have to work for it. Lampe, who owns Lampe Motor Sports and drove a 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, knew what he was getting into when he had to eliminate Williams to win the grand prize. Lampe built the engine that ran Williams’ 1964 Chrysler Imperial. The two Nebraska drivers went one-on-one for 17 minutes before Lampe’s pink, white and purple machine drove Williams’ blue Imperial, which was built in five days, into the demolition derby grave.

“Those two guys really drove their hearts out. When it came down to it, Kelly really pulled it together,” said Jamie Estergaard of Briggsdale, who finished in third place. “He’s been driving quite a few years, and he put on a good show.”

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Williams, who is from Valentine, Neb., and won $2,000 for his runner-up finish, ended up riding on a left rear rim before finally shutting it down. Three straight crunching hits put Lampe in the winner’s circle.

“It was his motor in my car, and we run together a lot,” Williams said. “I was trying to get him to line up with me front end to front end, but he wouldn’t do it. He had a lot faster car, and I’m driving a tank.”

It’s easy to figure out why Lampe isn’t the most popular drive at the demolition derby. He’s won too much during the 14 years he’s raced at the Stampede.

“I’ve won first at least five if not six times, and seven top-two finishes and the rest are top five,” said Lampe, whose last victory in Greeley was in 2001. He placed second in 2002 and fourth last year.

Lampe said it cost $10,000 to build his car.

“Everything’s brand new, the motor and transmission. That’s what I do for a living. I build the cars,” Lampe said.

The confident Lampe, whose strategy is to use the driver’s doors as a defensive weapon, drives in about 10 derbys a year across the country.

“People cuss me because of the way I drive. I’m a defensive driver,” Lampe said. “I’m there to put on a show for the crowd, but most of all I’m there for me.”

Lampe, who said he can win $5,000 to $10,000 during an average year, never tires of placing first.

“I am so pumped. It’s non-stop. I built this car in 11 days to come out here, and I have an eight-man crew,” Lampe said. “I couldn’t do it without them. They make the car come true.”

Estergaard rode on one back rim and then two back rims for about 15 minutes before his 1973 Chrysler Imperial called it a night.

“I felt it go because I had a lot of traction, and then all of a sudden it just slipped up when I got caught in between two cars,” said Estergaard, who was racing for the sixth time in Greeley and went home to Briggsdale $1,500 richer.

Derby officials said a total of 13 compact cars and 158 full-size cars competed in the competition. Fans were treated to nearly five hours of demolition derby.

The total purse was $15,000 with the winner taking home $3,100 and the 11th-place finisher $50.

Eight of the 11 drivers who finished in the money drove Chrysler Imperials.

Of the 29 cars in the finals, Cory Clark of Gill drove the oldest vehicle, a 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood.

“Demolition derby is the No. 2 spectator sport in America with NASCAR being No. 1,” Lampe said. “I go all over the United States. I’ve been from San Jose, California, all the way to the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.”